After she was fired, apparently for "poor performance" on Muvhango, actress Azwidohwi Malaka is churning out a top drawer performance on e.tv's Scandal!
Popular for playing Chief Azwindini's third wife Pfuluwani on the SABC 2 prime time soapie, Malaka has been cast in a prominent role on Scandal!, portraying the controversial Portia, a woman responsible for stealing Gloria's husband Abel.
Abel is played by Mandla Shongwe, famous for being on Generations and Soul City, while Marjorie Langa is the bubbly but cynical Gloria.
Malaka was last seen on Muvhango in July, following her contract not renewed after playing Pfuluwani for seven years.
Scandal! publicist Michael Pocock described Portia's dramatic entry into the fray as a "game changer for the soapie".
"She was big on Muvhango and is now playing the role of Abel's wife, much to Gloria's dismay."
Malaka says about her new character: "Portia is giving Gloria a hard time, she is a nuisance and a pain in Gloria's life. To crown it all she is raising Gloria's son Kgosi as his step-mother. She is confident and wants to take over every thing that is dear to Gloria, who hates her with a passion."
Malaka says she auditioned to play Portia three months ago and was called in a week after the auditions to inform her that she must get ready for casting.
"I had flashes at the back of my mind that I got the role. What interested me the most was the weirdness of the character. Portia makes me think out of the box," says Malaka, a protégé of the Market Theatre Laboratory in downtown Joburg.
"It's a big challenge for me as an actress. She's not an ordinary character, there is this X-Factor about her. I'm excited, I've been told I am nailing the role, I am loving it."
Malaka admits that she also enjoys being on stage and has since traveled abroad with numerous local productions including Suckers, which saw her grace theatre stages in Italy in 2003 and 2004.
In the early 2000s, she was a regular feature on stages at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival, performing in productions such as Betchar as well as Ice And Sights.
The actress is also a drawcard and a popular voice on Phalaphala FM's Tshivenda radio dramas, another craft Malaka says fulfills her when expressing herself behind the microphone.
